Tiger in the Sun

Additional Information

Provenance:
The Artist
Stremmel Gallery
Private collection, Nevada ca. 1980

Literature:
David Shepherd: The Man and His Paintings, by David Shepherd, published by David and Charles Publishers plc, 1985. Illustrated p. 59

Exhibited:
Jubilee Exhibition, The Tyron Gallery LTD, London, May - June 1977
David Shepherd Exhibition, The Tyron Gallery LTD, London, October-November 1978

David Shepherd painted many animals, but few stirred his passion for wildlife conservation the way tigers did. At the center of this passion was Tiger in the Sun, a 1977 painting that is one of the artist’s most well-known works. Not long after it left Shepherd’s easel, the image was reproduced for a limited edition print that would go on to become a huge bestseller and help raise thousands of dollars for tigers in Asia. Even today, the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation acknowledges Tiger in the Sun as one of the most sought-after images from Shepherd’s catalog. During his lifetime, the artist was acutely aware of the habitat destruction and hunting suffered by the Bengal and Sumatran tiger in South Asia. “You can always build another Taj Mahal, but you can never build another tiger,” Shepherd would say.

The British-born artist is primarily known for three subjects: elephants and tigers, and then also steam locomotives, which he was always keen on mentioning right after his work in the area of wildlife. Trains naturally became a subject for the painter after early assignments at airports all around the world painting airplanes. Later in his career—after many paintings of elephants, planes and trains—he would say he was attracted to “all things jumbo.” Today, his work lives on through the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, which continues to fund animal conservation around the world.

A copy of David Shepherd: The Man and His Paintings, by David Shepherd to accompany this lot.

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